Curriculum & Programs

SCHOOL PLAN OF TEACHING UNITS

Stanmore has a School Plan of connected learning outcomes which ensures that all students develop key concepts and understandings about their world – its society, environment, science and technology – while they are still in primary school. The School Plan nominates certain areas of study as mandatory units for each year of primary schooling. All students will study these units. In addition, students will also study other units, which may be selected from a group of optional units or may be chosen in relation to current issues or events.

KEY LEARNING AREAS (KLAs)

The basic skills of Literacy and Numeracy receive priority at Stanmore and teaching in these areas is both innovative and highly successful. Teachers assess students regularly so they understand the different learning needs of students and are able to provide teaching and learning activities that cater for those different needs. Teaching in all the KLAs includes elements of Literacy and Numeracy. The school has a record of high achievements in state wide and national skills assessment. Many of our students achieve outstanding individual results, while the school average is consistently above state and regional averages. Furthermore, the comprehensive data provided from the National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) show the school continues to improve its own performance over time. The school provides a wide range of educational programs for Years K–6 based on six Key Learning Areas:

Teachers design teaching and learning activities in all these areas that engage and challenge students, while enabling each one to learn successfully. Class teachers work with a number of specialist teachers to cater for a range of learning needs, including learning difficulties and extension for more capable students. Go to our Programs & Support page for more information.

ADDITIONAL LEARNING AREAS

Sport

Sport is a valuable part of Stanmore's curriculum because it contributes to the development of the whole person. It provides opportunities for students to develop their physical coordination and fitness, which builds all round confidence. It also develops a variety of skills for participation in lifelong recreation. All students are encouraged to participate in the wide variety of sporting experiences offered. From Kindergarten through to Year 2, students develop their sporting skills and fitness through a range of school based activities. In Years 3 to 6, students are able to participate in a broader range of sporting experiences, including tennis, ten pin bowling, dancing, swimming and an interschool competition run by the Primary School Sports Association (PSSA). Places in many of these activities are limited and preference is usually given to older students. Younger students will have their turn as they progress through the school. It is important that children wear appropriate clothing and shoes on those days when they are rostered for sport or physical education.

SPORTS HOUSES:

FRASER named after Dawn Fraser THORPE named after Ian Thorpe BRADMAN named after Don Bradman FREEMAN named after Cathy Freeman

All children belong to a Sports House and compete in Athletics and Swimming Carnivals in their houses. House points are awarded for success at these activities. Points are also awarded for outstanding effort in the playground, classroom and assembly. At the end of each year, shields are awarded to winning houses in swimming, athletics and overall performance.

TEAM SPORTS COMPETITION: Each public school belongs to a PSSA district. Those districts organise sporting competitions between schools in many commonly played sports – cricket, softball, rugby league, soccer, Australian Rules football and netball. Most of these are modified for younger children. Each district decides how it will run its competition. They are all round robin style where each school plays every other school in the competition. The Balmain District, to which Stanmore PS belongs, runs a weekly Friday afternoon competition. Students from Years 3 to 6 participate and travel by bus to the sporting venues.

Languages

All students have the opportunity to learn a language other than English. For some students, it is their first language but for others it is a second or third language. The two languages offered are Greek and Mandarin. In most cases, new students are able to choose the language they will learn, subject to space being available in the class.

Music Ensembles & Band

The school provides the opportunity for students to participate in many music ensembles, including a well‐established band program, strings, xylophone, percussion, recorder, guitar and choir. Most of these ensembles are open to interested students in Years 3-6, although recorder and strings are open to younger students. Some groups require an audition but most are open to all interested students. Rehearsals of the ensembles usually occur at lunchtime or before and after school. There are some costs associated with most of the activities. For more information about times, costs and instrument hire, contact the music teacher or the school office.

There is a training band for beginners, an intermediate band for students who have graduated from the training band and a concert band for more advanced players. The bands provide opportunities for students in Years 3‐6 to learn to play a band instrument. The band program includes private lessons, sectional tutorials and full band rehearsals. The school provides instruments for students to hire if they do not own their own instrument. Information about the band program is circulated at the beginning of each school year or you can ask at the school office.

Philosophy

Philosophy (the love of wisdom) teaches children to consider all ideas and to discuss them rationally, supporting their opinions with reasons and examples. This develops higher order thinking and reasoning skills. This approach also assists students to build an ethical framework that will guide their behaviour in future years. Philosophy was introduced into senior classes in 2007 and is now taught to all classes K–6 very week. It is part of the talking and listening strand of the English syllabus.

Special Religious Instruction (SRI) & Ethics

SRI/scripture is offered for students from Catholic, Protestant, Islamic, Jewish and Greek Orthodox faiths. Parents nominate on the DET Enrolment Form which SRI class they would like their child to attend, alternatively parents may nominate special education in ethics if they do not wish their child to attend SRI.

Special education in ethics is a program in ethical decision making, action and reflection within a secular framework, based on a branch of philosophy. It provides lessons on a wide range of topics and is implemented through dialogue and discussion. This approach has significant social benefits for the students. The students learn to think about ethical matters together and, through reasoned argument, they learn to consider other points of view and be sincere and respectful participants when dealing with different opinions and points of view – more information can be found on the Primary Ethics website.

Ethics classes are taught by trained volunteers which include parents, as well as interested community members. Ethics is currently available for students in Years 5 and 6, and there is one class in Year 4. Wecurrently need more trained Ethics volunteers.Find out here:how to become a volunteer Ethics Teacher.

SRI and Ethics classes are on Monday afternoons. Students who do not attend SRI, or are in years without ethnics teachers available, remain with a Stanmore teacher for the 40 minutes. Please contact Ms Dawn Fenech, our SRI and Ethics Co-ordinator, with any Scripture/Ethics class enquiries. If you wish to change which class your child attends (e.g. from Non-religious instruction to Ethics) go to our Change of Scripture/Ethics form.

Library

Stanmore has a well‐resourced library, which supports teaching in all the key learning areas. The teacher librarian plans and teaches with the class teacher to develop students’ research and library skills. This includes reading, discussion and use of the internet as part of researching core units of work, which focus on English, Science and History. It also includes written and oral presentations of the knowledge and understandings that students have developed from their research.

Education Sustainability

Education Sustainability has emerged as an important curriculum area in response to local and global concerns for the future of our environment. It helps students to develop an awareness of the environment and assists them to develop positive and balanced attitudes towards it. At Stanmore, sustainability education received a big boost through a $10 000 grant to the school from the Down to Earth Foundation, which was presented to the school captains by David Suzuki. The grant enabled the school to employ an Sustainability Education Teacher to work with students and teachers in their classrooms and to help the school to develop environmental education programs. More recently, the school has embarked on a sustainability program to reduce our use of resources such as energy, paper and water, to recycle where possible and to reduce our overall waste. The school has installed solar panels and rainwater tanks and engages the student body in monitoring our overall usage of resources. The school is also trying to reduce the waste going to landfill by encouraging Nude lunches and composting food scraps in our garden.